Postpartum Care Question! Trying to Solve Prolapse Issue Without Surgery!

beautiflaw

Thanks to this board my dreams of having a vaginal birth came true, but unfortunately my dreams of having a 100% drug and intervention free birth did not. However I had a wonderful midwife and birth experience and I wouldn't change a thing.

So I'm turning to you again almost 2 years later. DD was a large baby 9.8 lbs and I tore awfully during delivery, partly because of her body size and partly because the cord was wrapped around her neck like 3 times and it made a huge bulge. So anyway I had a lot of tearing. The midwife told me that it would take up to a year for everything to return to normal and to expect some incontinence and other issues, and to do pelvic floor exercises to address that. Well, its been a year, and everything has not gone back to normal. I am no longer seeing the midwife because she only accepts pregnant moms as clients, so I went to see a DO today. Its been 16 months since the birth and in spite of doing pelvic floor exercises (even with weights) I have not noticed much of a difference in the bladder issues I've been having.

So she checked me and she said that my bladder is prolapsed into the vagina and basically that because of the birth all the muscles that support the bladder are stretched and torn and just in bad shape. And in order to repair that I need more than kegels. So she is sending me to a different doctor (a urogynecologist I think its called) to see if I am doing the kegels wrong or what the deal is here. She said he will probably have me do something called "biofeedback" where sensors on strings will be placed inside the vagina to tell whether or not I'm doing the pelvic floor exercises correctly, and if not then I'll do the biofeedback on a regular basis ("like physical therapy for your vagina!" she said) to train my muscles back into shape.

So... have any of you had any experience with this? This is a better option than surgery obviously but I am really wondering if its going to work at all. 

AmyRI

A friend of mine had a prolapsed bladder as well. She did the PT, but it didn't work and she ended up doing the surgery a few months later. That did solve her troubles.

PansyPants

I have a rectocele and cyctocele but with getting pregnant so soon after my first (and knowing we wanted more than one child) I haven't done more than kegelsd and weighted balls to help with it. I do know that my issues run in my family and my mom, both her sisters and two of my cousins have all had reconstructive surgery for this. So far mine hasn't been as bad and I'm hoping it stays that way. 

elle_bee

I had minor prolapse and diastasis ( which i learned makes the prolapse worse) with my first and corrected it completely with pelvic floor rehab. The biggest thing I learned is that the strength of your abs plays just as much of a vital role in correcting the problem to keep everything 'pulled together'. So I highly recommend finding a good PT in your area as well b/c even if you are two years out you can still potentially correct your problem with exercise alone.  

MariaKeegs

The most important thing to do is to increase your core strength. The pelvic "basket" is connected to the core, so everything works together. There is a fabulous site developed by a physical therapist that experience pelvic organ prolapse after the birth of her children. She has developed a DVD and I highly recommend it. The web site is www.hab-it.com. Studies have also shown that low Vitamin D contributes to prolapse so ask your MD to check youer levels and supplement if necessary. I take 5000 IU per day. There is also an other site, www.prolapsehealth.com, that is similar to the bump in that it's for support and non-medical advice/opinions. I also found success with regular chiropractic adjustments. And, of course, time is your best ally.